Dogs Days
by fishylishy
Summary: -Twilight Princess, oneshot, songfic.- Midna reflects upon her journey with Link as she realizes she as decisions to make. Sometimes, the people we injure the most are the people we care about most. Fond memories of wild adventures...their "dog days".


**Heard this song on the new show "Cover Affairs", and became obsessed with it. It fits Twilight Princess decently well, and so I figured I may as well get it out of my system with a nice little song fic.**

**K+…mostly safe. I think there's some language at some point, but otherwise, this just a fanfic.**

**I don't own Twilight Princess or the song "Dog Days Are Over".**

**Enjoy. :D**

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_Happiness, it hit her like a train on a track__  
__Coming towards her, stuck still no turning back__  
__She hid around corners and she hid under beds__  
__She killed it with kisses and from it she fled__  
__With every bubble she sank with a drink__  
__And washed it away down the kitchen sink._

She was back to her true form, and her love was alive. Link was alive, Ganon was dead, and she was in her true beauty. Well, of course Zelda was alright—but that didn't really concern Midna. Joy struck her as Link's eyes met hers—beautiful baby blue against twilight-passion amber; like a chemical explosion of flavors and colors.

And that's when everything flooded back to Midna. In a split second, her expression faltered slightly. She had a kingdom, and she had duties, and she wasn't supposed to be in the Light Realm anymore. She, after all, was one of the Twili. Scorned by light and blessed by shadow.

_I have to lie,_ Midna thought with a pang. _I have to get away._ "Am I so beautiful that you have no words left?" A bitter smirk crossed her face, but Link couldn't see her bitterness. He could only see the joy of the moment—the fact that _she_ was alive, and he was alive, and Ganon was dead…

Link smiled. "I…am shocked." A laugh escaped his lips and he hugged Midna, half in hysterics. He stood on his tip toes and his lips brushed her ear. "I'm so glad you're okay. The Goddesses kept you for a reason."

Happiness choked her again, followed by pain. _I can't stay,_ she thought. _I can't let this happen again. It's my fault that this happened in the first place._ A few clear tears made their way to Midna eyes and she laughed, once again bitter. Link didn't notice, though. He was too caught up in his joy—joy and naivety, because he didn't have any guilt and pain with that happiness.

_The dog days are over__  
__The dog days are done__  
__The horses are coming so you better run__  
__Run fast for your mother run fast for your father__  
__Run for your children and your sisters and brothers!__  
__Leave all your love and your loving behind you__  
__Can't carry it with you if you want to survive!_

Midna, Zelda, and Link were sleeping on a rooftop terrace of Hyrule Castle that night. The sky was perfectly clear that night, stars hanging above them like a canopy of safety. It was not a feature Midna saw in her realm, and the idea of nighttime excited her. Another pang of pain filled her—she would miss the sky.

Her had touched Link's weakly. She could live without a sky, if it meant keeping Link safe. Midna tried to ignore the fact that she desired to stay with Link, or covet him to her realm. _No. He can be happy without me. He has Zelda, and he has the dumb farm girl. _

She drifted off into a sleep of memories, with the thought lingering: her days of her love of her sacred beast, her wolf, her _love_…were over.

A memory shaped itself in her dreams. Flashes of them, at first. A hand cupped around her cheek in the heat of the Gerudo desert. Nights spent sleeping under the stars. Link, defeating Zant. Link…his face, lingering for a moment. Pain slashed Midna in her memories, as well as a bittersweet happiness that she at least _had_ memories. She would have to block those out, though, when she left. They would hurt her too much to keep.

_The dog days are over__  
__The dog days are done__  
__Can't you hear the horses__  
__Cuz here they come_

_And I never wanted anything from you__  
__Except everything you had__  
__And what was left after that too, oh._

Midna shuddered in her sleep. Yes, the memories were a very bad type of addiction. Delicious, forbidden, and too bad for her to keep up. As soon as she said her goodbyes, she would forget them. Her heart couldn't take the sacrifice and remain whole, and so she'd have to butcher half of her soul. _But he will be safe. He will never have to fight this evil ever again._ The thought of Link's safety and her healing put a tinge of joy inside of her again, and a memory played itself in her mind.

The first times they were together—running through the Forest Temple and defeating the monsters in their path. Midna was rather peeved that Link was acting all _emotional_ over killing the monsters—what was his problem, anyway? She wasn't asking too much of him. Just to perform his soul duty and help her get her realm back. He was the Sacred Beast in _her_ realm's legend, and supposedly he was some sort of Chosen Hero in the Light Realm. It was his_ job,_ she was just making him do it.

Or, that's how _she_ saw it.

They were in the boss room, and he was fighting. Fighting hard and fighting long. His screams of panic were loud, and Midna giggled. Some _hero! _He needed to get used to it.

Finally, an explosion of light filled the room. Link let out a very heavy breath of relief, and did some twirl of victory with his sword. His clothing was tattered—he had gotten quite roughed up in the temple. Midna chuckled again, floating out of his shadow and grabbing the Fused Shadow.

It's unique beauty reminded her of the Twilight Realm, and she couldn't think of a better way to get her realm back. These belonged to her—they were _her_ right of power!

"C'mon." Midna pointed her finger at the ground, a portal appearing. "We'll get out of this nasty place. Dog boy, hurry it up!"

Link shuddered. "The fighting…the killing…" He collapsed to his knees, eyes wide with terror.

Midna groaned and rolled her eyes. "For _real,_ wolfie? Everything you killed was evil."

"Do two wrongs make a right?" He challenged, frantic.

"It's your destiny or whatever. Guess you're gonna find out. Now come on, because we've got two more of these babies to find, dog boy."

/

Midna's eyelashes fluttered open on the roof of Hyrule Castle, taking her out of the memory. Yes, she had made him perform his destiny. She had awakened his body and soul, used it up in battles…and then she had taken his heart, all he had left. _And now I'm going to break your heart…just because you need to be safe._ The irony made Midna laugh softly, and she let herself flow back into a restless sleep.

_Happiness it hit her like a bullet in the back__  
__Struck from a great height__  
__By someone who should know better than that._

_The dog days are over__  
__The dog days are gone__  
__Can you hear the horses__  
__Cuz here they come!_

Zelda laughed cheerfully at Telma's bar—as did everybody else in the bar. Link's laughter was perhaps the loudest—a low, throaty chortle that marked the sound of content. Midna wasn't paying too much attention—the Light dwellers were talking of fairy tales and jokes she didn't quite understand.

After the laughter died down, Link turned to Midna with a grin. "Aww, not having fun, Princess?"

Midna sighed and put the glass of whiskey she had been sipping at down on the counter. The bar was crowded and hot—plus, full of people who spoke of things she didn't know how to partake in. "Not really. I'm too dumb for your jokes, I guess."

"Not nearly. Our jokes are too complex, I think."

"Perhaps." Midna's response was stiff and uncomfortable.

Link sighed, and then his face lit up again. Midna had gotten used to the pangs in her stomach, but she had gotten used to thinking—_he'll be happy soon, he'll recover, and he'll be safe._ "C'mon. Let's go for a walk."

Midna didn't protest. She still valued the time she had left with Link. She had already told Zelda that she wanted to leave in the next morning's time—to check on her realm. Zelda had seen the resolve in Midna's eyes, and did not argue with her.

But she did know something was wrong.

Link and Midna strolled out of town, out into the quiet peace of Hyrule Field. The field stretched out into a plain of grass and worn down paths—there were no monsters left. Only quiet animals and a beautiful night sky, with a beautiful moon and beautiful stars.

"It's so…peaceful. Kind of weird," Link muttered after several moments of silence.

"What, you wishing for some throats to slice?" Midna joked. Link laughed.

"Nope. I'm happy for the peace and quiet."

There was another silence, and Midna finally sat down on a small rock. Link sat next to her, staring up at the stars. Midna blocked out her emotions of pain and sorrow, instead focusing on the time she had—and enjoying it. Link slid his arm around her waist and she sighed.

"Have you thought about it yet—the fact that it's _over?_ You know…no more fighting evil? No more battlefield emergencies? No more being a Twilight hero, too…no more being the Sacred wolf."

Midna sighed. "I've missed your wolf form lately. The mental conversations we had—through our Twilight connection—were so…filling. And deep. You were a part of my people when you were a wolf…none of that sappy Light dweller stuff!"

Link laughed again, running his hands through Midna's hair. "Will you transform me? One last time?"

_Run fast for your mother and fast for your father__  
__Run for your children for your sisters and brothers__  
__Leave all your love and your loving behind you__  
__Can't carry it with you if you want to survive._

_The dog days are over__  
__The dog days are gone__  
__Can you hear the horses because here they come!_

Midna felt the choking desire to say _yes._ To transform Link into _her_ Link again—her Twilight beast, her beautiful lover. But she couldn't covet his soul again. "No!" She whispered, appalled. "No. Those days are over…you said so yourself. No more dog days."

Link stifled a gasp. Midna realized how horrid her tone had been, and she sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such a bitch about it."

There was silence again, and another sigh escaped Midna's lips. She ruffled Link's hair. "But you're still my dog boy. Whenever I see—" She withdrew the small, pointed stone that allowed Link to freely transform—"this…I will think of you. It's a little piece of _us._"

"But you'll have me for your whole life."

Midna bit her lip. "Oh?"

"Oh, I'm not letting you get away. As soon you've explained everything to your people, I want to come to your kingdom. Will you come and get me?"

The emotions nearly choked Midna. She tried to suppress them. "Oh, sure, wolf boy. I'll come and get ya, and drag you back to my realm. But I'll be holding you prisoner," She teased.

"I…might be okay with that."

Midna laughed.

They walked back to the castle, and they were about to go to their separate rooms. Link knew that Midna was travelling to her realm, and both he and Zelda agreed to walk her there. Midna didn't protest, but she knew how much more painful it would make it.

As she was about to go to her realm, Midna considered something. "Actually, dog boy, I wanna give half of this stone to my people and half to you…to show them that it's okay, you know? To help convince them?" She was a very good liar, and Link nodded eagerly. She split the stone of Shadow magic that allowed Link to transform into a wolf in two different pieces, forever shattering its ability.

_Letting him remember the dog days can't be too bad. Just…a memory._ _And one for me, too._ It was an innocent keepsake—for the both of them. Just a memory of the happier days.

_The dog days are over__  
__The dog days are gone__  
__Can you hear the horses because here they come!_

_So you better run._

And, at the mirror chamber, it was every bit as hard as Midna thought it to be.

Her feet took steps that felt like they had their own heartbeat—a very, very painful heartbeat. But a small smile crept upon her lips as she felt her half of the shadow stone—her half of the only memory she would treasure—and she felt the joy of her action.

But, at the same time, she felt the pain.

So bittersweet, the ending.

_Yes, the ending._ The mirror spun up and she started to warp. Link and Zelda watched, smiling and waving. Link kept saying "Come get me as soon as you can!".

Midna turned to him, and she started to warp through the portal. Tears fell down her face, and she felt the magic of their presence. She pushed a tear off of her face with her fingertips, and it slowly flew out towards the mirror.

Link and Zelda did not comprehend it until the tear hit the mirror. A horrible cracking sound echoed throughout the chamber, and Link gasped.

"Link…"

He lunged for the steps. Midna's body started to dissolve.

_The ending…_the thought ran through Midna's mind. "Link…I…see you later." Her voice cracked, and her body flew through the portal. The chamber fell silent.

_The ending of our days…our dog days._

**0000000000000000000000000**

**I hope this oneshot was enjoyed! Reviews are VERY welcome-as well as constructive criticism. **


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